FERRIDAY — They’re cute, they’re fuzzy and they spit.

Kally Dennig fell in love with alpacas the moment she saw them.

While Dennig, originally from Canada, was back visiting her family, they visited a nursing home. The unusual thing about that facility was that alpacas were allowed to romp around in pens near the facility. The residents loved watching them, Dennig said, and so did she.

“I just saw them and fell in love,” she said. “I said, ‘I want one of these.’”

And soon, she had six of the animals at her home near Lake St. John. Today, she has 18.

“You can’t have just one,” Dennig said. “They’re herd animals, and they need companionship.”

Alpacas are native to South America, where they were used as pack animals for centuries.

They were first brought to the United States in 1984, according to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association.

Alpacas are roughly half the size of llamas, but they can spit like llamas — several feet, in fact.

The animals’ soft fleece is often sold to make blankets and clothes.

“It’s stronger and warmer and has less of a prickle factor than wool,” Dennig said.

If an owner sells the fleece, the income can pay for the animal’s upkeep and food, she said.

And although there aren’t many alpaca breeders in the United States, interest is growing, she said.

Susan and Johan Radius, who live near St. Francisville, are looking at raising alpacas themselves and, along with their family, visited Dennig Sunday morning.

“We were interested, and we found (Dennig) on the Internet,” Susanne Radius said. “We thought we would like to have a look.”

The family has a few acres they don’t use, Johan Radius said, and they thought they might use the space for alpacas.

“And they keep the grass short,” he said.

Dennig took the visitors around the pen, introducing them to the animals and answering questions on how to care for them.

One of the best things about keeping alpacas is the stress relief, said Dennig, who works as a CPA.

“I can leave work mad as a wet hen, pull into my driveway, see the alpacas, and that’s all she wrote,” she said.